DESCRIPTION: The proposed conference entitled "Structural Biology: Application to the Study of Membrane Transport Proteins" is the third in a series of state- of-the-art workshops aimed at introducing the concepts and the application of protein structure studies to investigators in renal, diabetic, and digestive disease research. The conference, jointly sponsored by the American Society of Nephrology (ASN) and the International Society of Nephrology, is expected to be attended by approximately 125 to 150 investigators and trainees. The conference will include lectures on protein structure, protein folding pathways, evolution, protein stability, oligomerization, structure-function relationships, and selected examples of studies on well-characterized membrane proteins. The invited speakers include four international experts in protein chemistry: Dr. Giuseppi Zaccai from Switzerland, Dr. Jean-Luc Popot from France, Dr. Pieter Cullis from Canada, and Dr. Georg Schulz from Germany.Fourteen domestic speakers also will participate in the program. The program organizers request travel support for five key international speakers and for 40 trainees and junior investigators. To encourage broad participation and attendance, the meeting will be advertised in the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology, Kidney International, the American Journal of Physiology, the Journal of Clinical Investigations, and Nature. Announcements of the meeting also will be sent to NIDDK-supported researchers and trainees.Selection of trainees for travel support will be reviewed by a committee consisting of Dr. Peter Aronson and two members of the ASN Workshop Committee, Drs. Diana Marver and Alan Krensky. Selection will be based on the applicants' commitment to research activities and letters of recommendation. If necessary, a limit of two awards per training program or department will be imposed.